Matt Holliday
Full Name: Matthew Thomas Holliday
Born: January 1,1980 Place: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Position: LF
Height: 6-4 Weight: 235
Bats: R Throws: R
High School: Stillwater (Stillwater,OK) College:
Drafted: Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 7th round (210th overall) of the 1998 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)
Born: January 1,1980 Place: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Position: LF
Height: 6-4 Weight: 235
Bats: R Throws: R
High School: Stillwater (Stillwater,OK) College:
Drafted: Selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 7th round (210th overall) of the 1998 amateur entry draft. (June-Reg phase)
Obviously, Matt Holliday has grown into the star we here at RoxHead predicted he would turn into. It didn't take a genius to see this, however, our words certainly fell on a lot of deaf ears the last few years. During the 2006 season, Holliday not only played in his first All-Star game but he also joined the exclusive 'Honorary Blake Street Bomber' membership when he surpassed the 30 homer mark.
Not all the time do you see a player step up to the challenges presented before him and it's not easy to hit fourth in a lineup, so to have Holliday really excel at the job certainly makes the top of the Rockies lineup more respectable.
Of course the main problem when thinking of Holliday and the Rockies in terms of a long-term relationship, you must consider the Scott Boras factor. Boras is the toughest sports agent out there and sometimes appears to the public as a insincere buffoon that only looks at sports teams as a means to grab as much cash as he can for his clients despite what it can do to the teams abilities to field a team. Because of this unfortunate variable, we don't see Matt being here for much longer than his service time will allow, which is after the 2009 season.
With that in mind, lets hope that his impending fortune will continue to motivate him to produce huge numbers which can only help the Rockies, right? Look for his average to settle in around the .325 mark while his homer total may increase slightly into the mid thirties or so. His RBI total is more contingent on other factors but it should fall into the 120-140 range if he continues hitting 4th behind Garrett Atkins.
YEAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2004 121 400 65 116 31 3 14 57 195 31 86 3 3 .349 .488 .290
2005 125 479 68 147 24 7 19 87 242 36 79 14 3 .361 .505 .307
2006 155 602 119 196 45 5 34 114 353 47 110 10 5 .387 .586 .326
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 401 1481 252 459 100 15 67 258 790 114 275 27 11 .368 .533 .310
2006 Salary $550,000. Fourth year of a four-year contract with $50,000 prorated buyouts on options for 2006 and 2007. Incentives: 250, 300 and 350 plate appearances, $50,000 each; 400 plate appearances, $100,000; 60 days on the active major-league roster, $200,000; 120 days on the active ML roster, $250,000; 180 days on the active ML roster, $300,000; All-Star, $25,000; Gold Glove, $25,000; Silver Slugger, $50,000; NL MVP, $100,000; division series MVP, $50,000; LCS MVP, $75,000; World Series MVP, $100,000.
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2006 RoxHead analysis
Through the course of the last couple years RoxHead has read many things in print about Holliday. For the most part, the writers do not think much of him. Their logic always refers back to his "numbers". His minor league average was .276. He never hit more than 16 homers in a season and never more than 72 RBI. His big league numbers don't excite one either. In nearly 900 at bats, Matt has only 33 homers and 144 RBI. His career average is almost .299.
However, very seldom do you read what one can see with their baseball eye. Most people, who know very little about the guts of the game, think they can project out what a player will be by looking at the numbers (i.e. the writers at baseballprospectus.com). Without really seeing the subject live and in person, they make judgments and then spout on about what they think their ultimate wisdom tells them. And for the most part, many think Matt Holliday will have a brief career and that some other prospect down in low A ball projects to be much better for the good of the Rockies.
Well, Rox Head.com is here to tell you all that Matt Holliday will be playing leftfield in Coors Field for the next ten years or so (unless his new agent, Scott Boras, screws that up and besides the fact that Holliday's contract ends after this season, he is also arbitration-eligible for three years so the Rockies aren't bidding against other teams for his services). Folks, this guy is a stud and there's no knocking him out of that spot unless he suffers some kind of injury or something unforeseen like that. Holliday has power that the numbers don't reflect. He has that air of confidence scouts love to see in a major leaguer and of course he has a God given major league look to him that old tyme scouts drool over.
A quote from and ex-Rockie makes a point about Holliday's power potential:
"I have heard his swing is too level, but I wouldn't change a thing," Jeromy Burnitz
said. "As he strong as he is, as he gets older and more comfortable with his
approach, he's going to hit more and more mistakes out."
Most baseball people will tell you that Holliday will project to hit homers in the mid 20's and have an average around .290 to .300. The RBI total will, of course, depend upon his homer total mainly because that number will determine his spot in the batting order. If his homer total creeps over 30, then look for him to be slotted into the cleanup position which will boost his RBI numbers up over 115 per year. If those homers stay in the 20's, then he'll bat 5th or 6th, which will lower his RBI numbers into the 100 to 115 range. It's pretty much as simple as that but either way you look at it, Matt Holliday will be roaming leftfield for the Colorado Rockies until the year 2015 at the very least.
Not all the time do you see a player step up to the challenges presented before him and it's not easy to hit fourth in a lineup, so to have Holliday really excel at the job certainly makes the top of the Rockies lineup more respectable.
Of course the main problem when thinking of Holliday and the Rockies in terms of a long-term relationship, you must consider the Scott Boras factor. Boras is the toughest sports agent out there and sometimes appears to the public as a insincere buffoon that only looks at sports teams as a means to grab as much cash as he can for his clients despite what it can do to the teams abilities to field a team. Because of this unfortunate variable, we don't see Matt being here for much longer than his service time will allow, which is after the 2009 season.
With that in mind, lets hope that his impending fortune will continue to motivate him to produce huge numbers which can only help the Rockies, right? Look for his average to settle in around the .325 mark while his homer total may increase slightly into the mid thirties or so. His RBI total is more contingent on other factors but it should fall into the 120-140 range if he continues hitting 4th behind Garrett Atkins.
YEAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2004 121 400 65 116 31 3 14 57 195 31 86 3 3 .349 .488 .290
2005 125 479 68 147 24 7 19 87 242 36 79 14 3 .361 .505 .307
2006 155 602 119 196 45 5 34 114 353 47 110 10 5 .387 .586 .326
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Career 401 1481 252 459 100 15 67 258 790 114 275 27 11 .368 .533 .310
2006 Salary $550,000. Fourth year of a four-year contract with $50,000 prorated buyouts on options for 2006 and 2007. Incentives: 250, 300 and 350 plate appearances, $50,000 each; 400 plate appearances, $100,000; 60 days on the active major-league roster, $200,000; 120 days on the active ML roster, $250,000; 180 days on the active ML roster, $300,000; All-Star, $25,000; Gold Glove, $25,000; Silver Slugger, $50,000; NL MVP, $100,000; division series MVP, $50,000; LCS MVP, $75,000; World Series MVP, $100,000.
-------
2006 RoxHead analysis
Through the course of the last couple years RoxHead has read many things in print about Holliday. For the most part, the writers do not think much of him. Their logic always refers back to his "numbers". His minor league average was .276. He never hit more than 16 homers in a season and never more than 72 RBI. His big league numbers don't excite one either. In nearly 900 at bats, Matt has only 33 homers and 144 RBI. His career average is almost .299.
However, very seldom do you read what one can see with their baseball eye. Most people, who know very little about the guts of the game, think they can project out what a player will be by looking at the numbers (i.e. the writers at baseballprospectus.com). Without really seeing the subject live and in person, they make judgments and then spout on about what they think their ultimate wisdom tells them. And for the most part, many think Matt Holliday will have a brief career and that some other prospect down in low A ball projects to be much better for the good of the Rockies.
Well, Rox Head.com is here to tell you all that Matt Holliday will be playing leftfield in Coors Field for the next ten years or so (unless his new agent, Scott Boras, screws that up and besides the fact that Holliday's contract ends after this season, he is also arbitration-eligible for three years so the Rockies aren't bidding against other teams for his services). Folks, this guy is a stud and there's no knocking him out of that spot unless he suffers some kind of injury or something unforeseen like that. Holliday has power that the numbers don't reflect. He has that air of confidence scouts love to see in a major leaguer and of course he has a God given major league look to him that old tyme scouts drool over.
A quote from and ex-Rockie makes a point about Holliday's power potential:
"I have heard his swing is too level, but I wouldn't change a thing," Jeromy Burnitz
said. "As he strong as he is, as he gets older and more comfortable with his
approach, he's going to hit more and more mistakes out."
Most baseball people will tell you that Holliday will project to hit homers in the mid 20's and have an average around .290 to .300. The RBI total will, of course, depend upon his homer total mainly because that number will determine his spot in the batting order. If his homer total creeps over 30, then look for him to be slotted into the cleanup position which will boost his RBI numbers up over 115 per year. If those homers stay in the 20's, then he'll bat 5th or 6th, which will lower his RBI numbers into the 100 to 115 range. It's pretty much as simple as that but either way you look at it, Matt Holliday will be roaming leftfield for the Colorado Rockies until the year 2015 at the very least.
Matt Holliday Bio:
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In the News
11/10/06.. info
Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday received a National League Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award.
9/15/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Hurdle said left fielder Matt Holliday understands that he needs to improve his defense to reach the next level, after emerging as an offensive star this season.
Holliday, who was drafted as a third baseman and underwent elbow surgery at one time in his career, has had difficulty with some fly balls at different points this season. But Hurdle said it's not from a lack of effort. "He's talked long and hard about winning a Gold Glove," Hurdle said. "He needs to keep putting a major portion of emphasis on his defense, which he takes time [practicing] every day. Can he take more time? He might be able to do that. He might be able to stay on a throwing program to continue to develop arm strength."
But if Holliday doesn't improve and if the Rockies continue to carry good defensive players, Hurdle said he could see removing Holliday late in games for defensive purposes. It would be similar to what former Rockies manager Don Baylor did in the late 1990s with big bat Dante Bichette. "Do you want your three best defensive outfielders in the game late?" Hurdle said. "If you would, you know, Matt might not be one of them. But you let him know that going in.
"That's a topic we'll have in Spring Training. 'We want you to be the best you can be, so you can be in there for nine, 12, however many innings it is,' because if I do have an option on the bench that's better, it makes sense for the ballclub to have a better defensive player."
8/18/06.. addition.. MLB.com
The Rockies' training staff made Holliday a special pad, which is topped by hard plastic. Holliday put two wristbands around it for extra protection. It might be a permanent piece of equipment. "I'd probably keep wearing this, but I don't want to wear a lot of other padding," he said.
The padding could help Holliday, who said after the injury that the inability to move his hands out of the way of inside pitches has been an issue. He missed a game earlier this season after being hit on the right thumb.
8/11/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Don't waste time wondering about the Rockies' attempts to sign Matt Holliday to a multiyear deal. It isn't going to happen.
And nobody is complaining.
Last winter the Rockies felt they were on the verge of getting a four-year deal with a guarantee of $17 million worked out with Holliday, but he decided to change agents, hiring Scott Boras, who also represents Holliday's brother, Josh, an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. Boras' track record is to go on a year-by-year basis with players who aren't free agents, feeling it provides a better opportunity to maximize the income by having the power of arbitration each year.
No problem for the Rockies. They have projected budgets for the next three seasons that accommodate arbitration dealings with Holliday. Technically, Holliday is signed for 2007 at $500,000, but the multiyear deal he signed when the University of Tennessee and University of Miami tried to persuade him to quit baseball and play quarterback provides Holliday the ability to opt out if he is arbitration eligible, which he will be.
8/10/06.. addition.. Post
Holliday said the fuss (about his contract) is a little premature. "Where am I going to go? The Rockies control my rights for three more years," Holliday said. "I love Denver and want to be here."
6/28/06.. addition.. Post
"He's (Holliday) always been a great competitor ever since I have known him. He deserves to be there," Angels super utilityman Chone Figgins said. "He always wanted to be one of the best, and he was never afraid to work hard."
5/21/06.. addition.. Post
The Rockies attempted to work out a long-term deal with Matt Holliday this past winter, but talks stopped when he switched to agent Scott Boras. There have been no new discussions.
4/27/06.. addition.. RoxHead..
Holliday seems better suited for the 5th or 6th spot in the order. He slips into terrible slumps way too often.
"He's a streaky hitter, [he] does major damage through streaks," Hurdle said to the media.
2/08/06... addition.. MLB.com
"I think success breeds confidence," said Holliday, whose 64 post-All-Star break RBIs were second most in the NL. "Going into this season after the second half I had last season is going to be huge, and now I have more experience. Actually, a bunch of guys are going to feel a lot better about their place on the team and their role."
-------------------
Once you put that USA jersey on, there's a lot of pride playing for your country," said Holliday, who is a veteran of two national teams, including the 1997 Junior National Team and the ill-fated 2003 United States Olympic qualifying team. "I'm thrilled to be part of it and I can't wait to get started. There was never any hesitation on my part at all."
12/14/05... addition.. (Baseball Weekly)
Leftfielder ranking:
10. Matt Holliday, Rockies: Good hitters get overlooked in Colorado unless they put up ridiculous power numbers. Holliday put up some pretty good ones and earned the right to bat cleanup behind the one current Rockies player who has transcended the skepticism about offense in Denver -Todd Helton.
12/02/05... addition.. Baseball Prospectus.com
Holliday was the Rockies second best hitter by VORP in 2005. But he smells like another Coors Field phenomenon: 1002 OPS at home, 729 on the road. He’s not a bad player to have around, but to impress with those numbers Holliday would have to be about five years younger. To consider him the linchpin of any outfield would be a mistake.
10/05/05... addition.. (MLB.com)
A quote from Clint Hurdle about Holliday:
"There's no doubt in my mind that he's gong to get better, and that's what I told
Matt earlier in the season when we had a sit-down," Hurdle said. "I said, 'You're
not just hitting fourth anymore. You're our cleanup hitter.' Two months later, I told
him, 'What you are doing now is providing protection in the lineup.' That's a big
statement for a second-year player."
The Rockies announced on Tuesday (Oct. 4th) that they will pick up his 2006 option at $500,000. That's more than $100,000 greater than the average salary for a player with his service time.
Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday received a National League Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award.
9/15/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Hurdle said left fielder Matt Holliday understands that he needs to improve his defense to reach the next level, after emerging as an offensive star this season.
Holliday, who was drafted as a third baseman and underwent elbow surgery at one time in his career, has had difficulty with some fly balls at different points this season. But Hurdle said it's not from a lack of effort. "He's talked long and hard about winning a Gold Glove," Hurdle said. "He needs to keep putting a major portion of emphasis on his defense, which he takes time [practicing] every day. Can he take more time? He might be able to do that. He might be able to stay on a throwing program to continue to develop arm strength."
But if Holliday doesn't improve and if the Rockies continue to carry good defensive players, Hurdle said he could see removing Holliday late in games for defensive purposes. It would be similar to what former Rockies manager Don Baylor did in the late 1990s with big bat Dante Bichette. "Do you want your three best defensive outfielders in the game late?" Hurdle said. "If you would, you know, Matt might not be one of them. But you let him know that going in.
"That's a topic we'll have in Spring Training. 'We want you to be the best you can be, so you can be in there for nine, 12, however many innings it is,' because if I do have an option on the bench that's better, it makes sense for the ballclub to have a better defensive player."
8/18/06.. addition.. MLB.com
The Rockies' training staff made Holliday a special pad, which is topped by hard plastic. Holliday put two wristbands around it for extra protection. It might be a permanent piece of equipment. "I'd probably keep wearing this, but I don't want to wear a lot of other padding," he said.
The padding could help Holliday, who said after the injury that the inability to move his hands out of the way of inside pitches has been an issue. He missed a game earlier this season after being hit on the right thumb.
8/11/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Don't waste time wondering about the Rockies' attempts to sign Matt Holliday to a multiyear deal. It isn't going to happen.
And nobody is complaining.
Last winter the Rockies felt they were on the verge of getting a four-year deal with a guarantee of $17 million worked out with Holliday, but he decided to change agents, hiring Scott Boras, who also represents Holliday's brother, Josh, an assistant coach at Georgia Tech. Boras' track record is to go on a year-by-year basis with players who aren't free agents, feeling it provides a better opportunity to maximize the income by having the power of arbitration each year.
No problem for the Rockies. They have projected budgets for the next three seasons that accommodate arbitration dealings with Holliday. Technically, Holliday is signed for 2007 at $500,000, but the multiyear deal he signed when the University of Tennessee and University of Miami tried to persuade him to quit baseball and play quarterback provides Holliday the ability to opt out if he is arbitration eligible, which he will be.
8/10/06.. addition.. Post
Holliday said the fuss (about his contract) is a little premature. "Where am I going to go? The Rockies control my rights for three more years," Holliday said. "I love Denver and want to be here."
6/28/06.. addition.. Post
"He's (Holliday) always been a great competitor ever since I have known him. He deserves to be there," Angels super utilityman Chone Figgins said. "He always wanted to be one of the best, and he was never afraid to work hard."
5/21/06.. addition.. Post
The Rockies attempted to work out a long-term deal with Matt Holliday this past winter, but talks stopped when he switched to agent Scott Boras. There have been no new discussions.
4/27/06.. addition.. RoxHead..
Holliday seems better suited for the 5th or 6th spot in the order. He slips into terrible slumps way too often.
"He's a streaky hitter, [he] does major damage through streaks," Hurdle said to the media.
2/08/06... addition.. MLB.com
"I think success breeds confidence," said Holliday, whose 64 post-All-Star break RBIs were second most in the NL. "Going into this season after the second half I had last season is going to be huge, and now I have more experience. Actually, a bunch of guys are going to feel a lot better about their place on the team and their role."
-------------------
Once you put that USA jersey on, there's a lot of pride playing for your country," said Holliday, who is a veteran of two national teams, including the 1997 Junior National Team and the ill-fated 2003 United States Olympic qualifying team. "I'm thrilled to be part of it and I can't wait to get started. There was never any hesitation on my part at all."
12/14/05... addition.. (Baseball Weekly)
Leftfielder ranking:
10. Matt Holliday, Rockies: Good hitters get overlooked in Colorado unless they put up ridiculous power numbers. Holliday put up some pretty good ones and earned the right to bat cleanup behind the one current Rockies player who has transcended the skepticism about offense in Denver -Todd Helton.
12/02/05... addition.. Baseball Prospectus.com
Holliday was the Rockies second best hitter by VORP in 2005. But he smells like another Coors Field phenomenon: 1002 OPS at home, 729 on the road. He’s not a bad player to have around, but to impress with those numbers Holliday would have to be about five years younger. To consider him the linchpin of any outfield would be a mistake.
10/05/05... addition.. (MLB.com)
A quote from Clint Hurdle about Holliday:
"There's no doubt in my mind that he's gong to get better, and that's what I told
Matt earlier in the season when we had a sit-down," Hurdle said. "I said, 'You're
not just hitting fourth anymore. You're our cleanup hitter.' Two months later, I told
him, 'What you are doing now is providing protection in the lineup.' That's a big
statement for a second-year player."
The Rockies announced on Tuesday (Oct. 4th) that they will pick up his 2006 option at $500,000. That's more than $100,000 greater than the average salary for a player with his service time.
